Mr
Tom
Burke
Primary Department
School of Communications
Role
Academic Staff
Work Area/Key Responsibilities
Academic
5330
Email Address
tom.burke@dcu.ie
Campus
Glasnevin Campus
Room Number
GLA: C127
Academic biography
Tom Burke completed his PhD by Artefact The Gap in Consent: Ethics in Documentary Relationships in late 2024. The film component of this work is currently being shown at film festivals, academic conferences and is being used in films schools internationally as a primer on the role of consent in documentary filmmaking.Tom has been making film and video projects of varying scales and styles for over a decade. Working primarily in the documentary form, he often assumes a shooting director role, and more often than not will be the editor of his own films. Regardless of format or output medium, the goal is alwaysthe same; telling stories honestly, simply and with respect for those in front of the lens.In 2018, his feature documentary ‘Losing Alaska’ premiered at the IDFA documentary festival in Amsterdam and is currently touring festivals worldwide. In early 2019, his television documentary ‘Shooting the Darkness’ premiered to critical acclaim in Ireland, France and Germany and premiered on the BBC in late 2020.Tom is currently working on a slate of factual projects and is an assistant Professor at Dublin City University where he teaches ‘Moving Image’ and video production at the School of Communications (@DCU_SoC)
Research interests
My completed PhD by Artefact is titled The Gap in Consent - Ethics in Documentary Relationships. The project takes the form of a documentary film featuring leading practitioners speaking on camera about ethical dilemmas they have encountered while making their work. It is accompanied by an academic thesis which situates the film within existing literature, and draws out lessons from the filmmaking process beyond the limits of the film artefact.As a documentary filmmaker I am interested in exploring the ability of that genre to tell complex stories within the constraints of the linear form. My continuing research focuses on consent, documentary modes of production and the limitations of what can be observed by the documentary camera.